10th Grade American Government

Course Overview

This course presents a comprehensive study of national, state, and local government Additional topics of study include law, economics, financial literacy, and current issues Students will learn and apply content and skills through reading complex primary and secondary source text for comprehension and interpretation, written and oral expression, study skills, problem solving, and critical thinking skills Students will be will be expected to closely read and analyze many seminal documents in American history, important Supreme Court cases, laws and statutes, graphs and charts, as well as news articles and political cartoons Students will learn skills and content that will help prepare them for future course work and assessments in secondary social studies This course is recommended for students who have demonstrated a need for skill improvement as indicated by previous social studies coursework This course prepares students for the High School Assessment in American Government and fulfills the government graduation requirement.

 MSDE State Standards for Social Studies Links to an external site.

Table of State Social Studies Standards

Unit I: Foundations of Government

Unit Overview

This unit is created to help students understand the purposes of government or why people choose to even create governments. Once they understand the general reasons behind government, students will delve into the philosophical debate on the role of government and the roles of citizens in government. It is important that students compare and contrast the difference between how various types of governments address these issues. Finally, students will take a look at historical documents that helped the founders construct our guiding documents: The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution.

Content Standards

Unit II: Political Structures

Unit Overview

All governments--national, state, and local--affect the daily life of every American. This complex system of multiple levels and divisions of government is difficult to understand and is sometimes inefficient. However, this system was seen by the Framers of the Constitution as a principal means of limiting the power of government and offering opportunities for citizens to participate in their own governance. In this unit, students will study the structure and function of the legislative and executive branches at all three levels of government. Once students demonstrate an understanding of the Constitutional structure and functions of the legislative and executive branches, they will study the role of political parties in the daily running of governments, in how they influence governments, and the major role political parties play in the election of government officials. 

Content Standards

Unit III: Judicial Branch and Policy

Unit Overview

Americans look to the law for the protection of their rights to life, liberty, and property. It is often argued, however, that Americans are overly dependent on the legal system to manage disputes about social, economic, and political problems rather than using other means available to them such as private negotiations and participation in the political process. An understanding of the place of law in the American constitutional system enhances citizens' capacity to appreciate the importance of law in protecting individual rights and promoting the common good. This understanding provides a basis for deciding whether to support new laws or changes in existing law.

Historically, Americans have used the judicial system to address societal issues like discrimination, land use, pollution, and the common good. For that reason, the role of the judicial branch is connected with the topic of public policy. Students can see the way different cases both - civil and criminal - have influenced the American public’s ideas about the common good.

The American political system provides citizens with numerous opportunities for choice and participation. The formal institutions and processes of government such as political parties, campaigns, and elections are important avenues for choice and citizen participation. Equally important are the many associations and groups that constitute civil society. All provide ways for citizens to monitor and influence the political process. American constitutional democracy is dynamic and sometimes disorderly. The political process is complex and does not always operate in a smooth and predictable manner. Individually and in groups, citizens attempt to influence those in power. In turn, those in power attempt to influence citizens. In this process, the public agenda is set, and public opinion regarding these issues is formed. Finally, if citizens do not understand the political process and how to participate in it effectively, they may feel overwhelmed and alienated. An understanding of the political process is a necessary prerequisite for effective and responsible participation in the making of public policy.

The United States is part of an interconnected world in whose development it has played and continues to play a considerable role. The American political tradition, including the ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, has had a profound influence abroad. The nation has exerted economic, technological, and cultural influence on other nations. At the same time, the United States and its citizens have been affected by political, economic, technological, and cultural influences from other countries.

Content Standards

Unit IV: Economics and Financial Literacy 

Unit Overview

Politics and economics are inseparable entities. The most important economic questions faced by a nation are also political questions. For example, who should decide what goods will be produced? What type of income or property ought to be taxed? What social services should government provide to its citizens? Capitalism, with its free enterprise system, is merely one way to respond to these questions and reminds us that economic equality is not the same as political equality. Since 1789, the government of the U.S. has become increasingly involved in protecting, managing, and regulating the nation’s economic life. With the rise of worldwide markets, free trade agreements, multinational corporations, and the use of outsourced labor, the federal government’s participation in the economy is now more crucial than ever. Today, the U.S. has a great deal to say about how the economy operates at home and abroad while protecting the economic interests of its citizens.

In order to be an effective citizen, consumer, and worker, it is critical to develop economic reasoning, which helps us understand the historical development and current status of economic principles, institutions, and processes. Responsible citizens recognize the means nation-states use to interact with one another, including trade diplomacy treaties, agreements, international law, economic incentives, as well as sanctions. These are means used to attain the ends of United States foreign policy, specifically economic aid, treaties, and sanctions. How and why domestic politics may impose constraints or obligations on the ways in which the U.S. acts in the world are critical to understanding the relationship between economics and policy making, e.g., long-standing commitments to certain nations, lobbying efforts of domestic groups, as well as economic needs.

In addition, understanding the principal effects of developments in other nations on American politics and economic conditions is integral to applying ideas of multinational corporations, internationalization of capital, migration of labor, and effects of an interdependent world economy. Understanding the role of the United States in establishing and maintaining principal international organizations (UN, UNICEF, WTO, World Bank, NATO, OAS, and the IMF) make it easier to recognize globalization and our geopolitical world. There is growing economic interdependence among nations of the world driven and enabled by many remarkable advancements in communication and transportation technologies. Most national governments use protectionism to try and control imports to protect native industries from foreign completion. The United States enters into bilateral and multilateral agreements (NAFTA, Helsinki Accord, Antarctic Treaty, Most Favored Nation Agreements) as examples of extending and maintaining both economic trade and economic rights. The meaning of economic rights as distinguished from personal and political rights can be found in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, the USSC, as well as State constitutions and common law, for example, the right to use money to buy personal property as distinct from the right to donate money for political campaigns. Such economic rights include the right to acquire, use, transfer, and dispose of property; to choose one's work or change employment; to join labor unions and professional associations; to establish and operate a business; to establish copyright and patent ownership; and enter into lawful, economic contracts. These economic rights are secured by such means as rule of law, checks and balances, independent judiciaries, a vigilant citizenry, and by engaged and educated consumers. Economic responsibilities follow from economic rights, therefore, recognizing contemporary issues that involve economic rights is paramount. In this way, citizens are able to determine which personal, political, or economic rights are in conflict or whether they reinforce each other. For example, an argument exists that poverty, unemployment, and urban decay serve to limit both political and economic rights. An informed citizen of economics knows how to buttress or refute this claim.

Finally, recognizing issues associated with personal economic decision-making relate to financial goals which are directly related to one’s personal investment in education and decision making in life choices. Wise consumers can identify the types of loans offered by financial institutions, as well as the financial obligations, consequences, and costs of borrowing money and managing credit responsibly. Personal investments impact family budgets and having an understanding of income, retirement, banking options including rule of 72 and opting-out, as well as the ideas of pay yourself first and caveat emptor will increase the likelihood of becoming a wise, productive consumer.

Content Standards